ABSTRACT. After an introduction presenting myself and my initial studies on Creative Music Making with Digital Tools and Computer Based Creative Music Making,  I discuss the issues of formal and informal musical learning and a widened field of research in Music Education.

As parts of a conceptional framework, The Ecology of Musical Creativity, the concept of affordances is discussed in relation to creativity and music making and the concept of Personal Inner Musical Library is introduced.

As an example of ongoing research I present my project Collaborative Musical Creativity and the interview study involving producers, sound engineers, artists and composers in the studio setting. The role of the producer is discussed, also in relation to a changed role of a music teacher.

As a conclusion, I discuss a shift of paradigm and new premises for today’s musical learning in and out of school. The presentation concludes by the bring-home-question ”In which landscape when researching  music and music education are we now?”

ABSTRACT. Background Destablized geopolitics and regional conflict have resulted in dramatically rising rates of forced displacement and migration, with racism, discrimination and violence threatening the wellbeing of immigrant communities. A growing number of intercultural music ensembles offer performance and digital presence as sites for cultural intersection. Positive social cohesion outcomes are claimed but a robust evidence base is lacking. This paper report findings from a 4-year study funded by the Australian Research Council which addresses the following: Research Question How can music be used as a positive instrument or site for fostering inclusion, understanding and cohesion between migrants and their host communities? Aim To identify, evaluate and develop theoretical and practical ways in which music engagement can facilitate intercultural social cohesion. Summary of Content Methods - 300 participants recruited from Australia, Europe and US (2019-2022) undertook surveys, interventions and/or interviews which generated rich data. Results - A range of analyses reveal that intercultural music exposure through watching/listening or direct participation can reduce stereotyping and bias and enhance social resilience and integration, where musical opportunities are rich in cognitive benefit (cultural knowledge and awareness), social opportunity, physical entrainment, and expressive emotional experience. Significance The paper identifies specific variables and processes that underpin music engagement in intercultural contexts offering new theoretical and practical insights to music’s role in intercultural social cohesion.

ABSTRACT. Background When children commence instrumental music tuition, diversity in their learning processes can emerge. Diverse learning needs refers to the range of challenges that can impact predictable learning processes and require additional support to facilitate successful development. However, children’s experiences in instrumental learning, including how diverse needs can present and be appropriately managed, are rarely examined in music education research. This study aims to address this gap in the research literature.

Research Questions 1. How do diverse learning needs in seven-year-old children emerge in the instrumental music studio and affect continued engagement?

2. How can children’s diverse learning needs be appropriately supported by teachers?

Summary of Content A longitudinal, qualitative investigation of seven-year-old children’s lived experience of cello skill development was undertaken. Unexpectedly, half of the child participants encountered diverse learning needs that extended beyond individual difference and presented extra challenges for musical development. Diverse needs included dyslexia, motor skill deficit, learning processing disorders, attention and focus issues, persistent anxiety, and intrusive synaesthesia. This study investigated, in fine-grained detail, the children’s experiences of emergent diverse learning needs, including how needs were identified, managed and accommodated by the children, teacher and parent. Findings indicated that the children’s diverse learning needs were idiosyncratic, and that their investment and self-perception in musical development, together with pragmatic, practical support and emotional guidance from the teacher and parent contributed to longer-term engagement.

Significance This study, conducted by the teacher as researcher, provided the rare opportunity to investigate children’s experiences of emergent learning diversity in the instrumental music studio. This offers a unique contribution to the literature with important pedagogical implications for teaching practice and further research.

ABSTRACT. Music listening exerts a powerful effect on human emotion. However, self-compassion, a strong predictor of mental health, has received little attention in existing music listening literature. As such, this study seeks to advance the current literature by investigating music listening and its role in cultivating self-compassion with a primary focus on its three key aspects: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, as well as its opposite elements: self-judgement, isolation, and overidentification.

As a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many people have experienced increased mental health concerns, feelings of isolation, and depression, with research indicating that young adults are using music as a coping mechanism during the pandemic. A total of 153 university students residing in Australia aged 18 – 33 years (M = 19.84, SD = 3.01) completed a mixed-methods questionnaire measuring self-compassion, music listening preferences, and well-being. Preliminary results indicate that 81% of the sample experienced self-compassion while listening to music during the Covid-19 pandemic, while 32% experienced it’s opposite. A thematic analysis of the open-ended responses regarding individual experiences of self-compassion as a result of listening to music is currently underway. The findings aim to enrich existing literature on music and emotions, build on previous studies demonstrating self-compassion's ability to improve mental health and broaden understanding of the pandemic's impact.

ABSTRACT. Much of the research exploring musical identities has adopted qualitative or mixed methods approaches, providing rich and meaningful insights (Faulkner, 2013; MacDonald et al., 2017); descriptions and definitions of musical identity can, however, become quite diffuse and elusive (Brubaker & Cooper, 2000). Developing quantitative measures may enable musical identity to be studied as a variable across multiple types of musicians, extending previous work to create opportunities for multiple methodological approaches and additional layers of analytical rigour.

This paper introduces the validation of a musical identity measure (MIM), developed to support individuals’ self-conceptions in relation to their musical activities.

Are there dimensions/components of identity that are consistent across different types of musicians?

Can exploring musical identity from the perspective of lifelong engagement (for work or leisure) provide new insights?

Model validation was carried out using a principal axis factor analysis with a diverse, international sample of 340 musicians. Factor analysis revealed a four-factor measure: Musical Calling, Musical Self-Efficacy, Emotional Attachment and Growth Mindset.  Further validation of the model confirmed MIM as a strong fit as a bifactor model. Subsequent analyses suggest gender differences in musical self-efficacy and possible changes in MIM factors across the lifespan. MIM has the potential to provide individuals with insights into their motivations to engage with musical activities, to help identify areas requiring additional support or guidance, and to support future-oriented decision making.

Brubaker, R., & Cooper, F. (2000). Beyond "identity". Theory and Society, 29(1), 1-47.

Faulkner, R. (2013). Icelandic men and me: Sagas of singing, self and everyday life. Ashgate.

MacDonald, R. A. R., Hargreaves, D. J., & Miell, D. (2017). Handbook of musical identities. Oxford University Press.

ABSTRACT. Groove is a widely-used concept in the field of music. Upon closer inspection, groove appears to be used as an umbrella term with various connotations depending on the musical era, the musical context, and the individual using the term. Yet, in the field of music psychology it is commonly operationalized as pleasurable desire to move to music (Senn et al., 2019). Thus, multidimensionality of groove and lack of a comprehensive usage of the term have resulted in rather dissimilar conceptualisation of the term being used across different studies, leading to phenomenological ambiguity across studies (Senn et al., 2019).

Therefore, our aim in this paper was to explore different definitions and connotations of the term groove so as to reach a more detailed understanding of it. Consequently, in an online survey, 88 participants provided free-text descriptions of the term groove. A thematic analysis revealed that participants’ descriptions fit into three main categories: music-, experience-, and individual differences related aspects.

Based upon this analysis, we propose a contemporary working definition of the term groove as used in the field of music psychology: “Groove is a participatory experience (related to immersion, movement, enjoyment, and social connection) resulting from subtle interaction of specific music- (such as time- and pitch-related features), performance- and/or individual difference- related factors.” Furthermore, we propose a distinction for the facets of groove as musical and experiential aspects. Importantly, this specification will permit further research with a common language to refer to distinct aspects of groove and thus create a more profound understanding in the literature.

Reference

Senn, O., Rose, D., Bechtold, T., Kilchenmann, L., Hoesl, F., Jerjen, R., ... & Alessandri, E. (2019). Preliminaries to a psychological model of musical groove. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1228.

ABSTRACT. Musicologist and composer Percy Young once observed that local authority music professionals had ‘taken the place in civic organisation of the waits of former times’. Young was music advisor for Stoke-on-Trent, one of a group of prominent musicians recruited by British local authorities just before, during and after the second world war. The appointment of the first music advisors, inspectors and organisers coincided with national and international trends to democratise music making and widen access to instrumental learning. Their legacy was an infrastructure of municipal music services and peripatetic tuition schemes that have endured, with varying fortunes and in various guises, until the present.

This paper will explore what is known about these pioneering music educators by collating data from successive volumes of the Association of Education Committees Yearbook. This listed senior staff from all local authorities from 1939 onwards, along with job titles, gender and postnominal qualifications. Transcribed into a database, the listings represent an unparalleled means of tracing the rapid expansion of this important branch of music education, and of profiling the musicians responsible. Cross-referencing with other sources helps us answer key questions, including: what were advisors’ typical educational backgrounds? How many women were employed in these roles? How long did individuals stay in post and was there movement between authorities? Why did music service provision flourish in some areas but take root more slowly elsewhere? What were these musicians’ educational and musical philosophies and can we trace their influence in the work of music education hubs today?

ABSTRACT. Background Public dissemination of research is an opportunity to demonstrate impact, typically via short reports or talks. Supported by the Arnold Bentley New Initiatives Fund, we share a new approach that relays the results of a survey on the use of music by people with Parkinson's (PwP) via a free concert.

Research Questions We conducted a survey documenting how, why, and in what ways PwP use music in their everyday lives. Here, we publicise some key findings and describe further ongoing analysis into how music might be better used to manage Parkinson's.

Aims Rather than 'prescribing' music, we investigate the music that PwP actually use. Through this ground-up process, we can build playlists and provide detail regarding the contexts in which various genres of music are most useful to PwP. In addition to concerts, we will build an online resource providing playlists for practitioners, researchers and other PwP.

Summary of Content We will present a synopsis of survey findings, describe the concert processes, themed program, and feedback about the event.

Significance PwP were included in the whole research process, and we embedded the research into student learning, enabling us to raise awareness about the power of music in Parkinson's care.

ABSTRACT. In the late 1950s, broadcaster and self-declared music psychologist Hans Keller devised Wordless Functional Analysis. He composed instrumental interludes that wove between the movements of Classical-era pieces and were designed to show audiences thematic similarity relationships without assistance from language. These interludes and the work in question were recorded and broadcast together on the BBC. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in Functional Analysis and some have proposed that this innovative and experimental method could inform present-day classroom activities and public music theory projects (O’Hara, 2020). But to use Keller's creations as models, we must better define his cognitive theory of similarity and contrast, which underlies the presentational strategies found in his analyses. I have created a framework based on Analogy and Alignment-based similarity theories (Gentner & Markman, 1997; Goldstone, 2005) that explains the pedagogical and psychological foundation of his body of work. Here, I apply that framework to his analysis of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet to show that his composed sequences of musical examples meet recommendations from these more recent theories on how learners gain insight from comparisons. I suggest how Keller’s method, combined with cognitive similarity research, could impact programming and in-concert learning practices today.

ABSTRACT. The sudden and profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the creative industries have been closely tracked by researchers, professional bodies, and arts organisations (Cohen & Ginsborg 2021, 2022; O’Brien et al., 2021; Musician’s Union, 2021; Shaughnessy & Perkins et al., 2022; Spiro & Perkins et al., 2021; Warran et al., 2022). As the industry begins to recover, emphasis is moving towards how to build an inclusive and sustainable recovery in light of the mental health and professional impacts of the last two years. Yet beyond the headline statistics of lost income and isolation, qualitative accounts of the support needs of musicians, actors and other creative workers – as identified in their own words – are less forthcoming. This paper reports on open responses collected as part of the HEartS Professional surveys during April-May 2021, and one year later (May-June 2022). These open responses examined arts professionals’ views on the challenges and support needs for sustainable and progressive development in the creative industries, and the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on their professional identities. Thematic inductive analysis the open responses identified three overarching themes as identified by the respondents themselves that are central to sustainable recovery: (i) Financial Infrastructures to build equitable, supportive funding models that prevent exploitation; (ii) An inclusive artistic community to provide support networks for mental health, professional growth and promote accessibility and inclusion; and (iii) Cultivating a sustainable professional landscape including advocating the importance of the arts and creative health and building resilience for the future. The findings support previous research that has emphasised the impact of pandemic on financial, social and mental wellbeing, the imperatives of creative education to prepare graduates for the realities of freelance working, and highlight the opportunity to develop a more sustainable, equitable and accessible creative sector in the future.

ABSTRACT. This paper explores the impact of alumni mentoring schemes on music students as they think about their future working lives. Research suggests that opportunities for career preview (Bennett & Bridgstock, 2015), working alongside more experienced musicians (Coulson, 2010) or belonging to a supportive community of practice (Creech et al, 2008) are important to the transition into working as a musician. This paper considers the role of alumni mentoring for providing this insight and support for music students as they make decisions about their futures.

The project evaluates alumni mentoring schemes hosted by two HE music departments in England. We explored the perceptions and experiences of mentees and mentors to discover the impact of employability mentoring on students’ perceptions of career preparedness and self-efficacy.

Our data suggest that employability mentoring has a range of benefits for students, including raising awareness of options and steps to achieving goals. Students were inspired by alumni, feeling connected to them through their shared educational experiences. Mentors were committed to the scheme and valued the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience. We conclude that alumni mentoring is a powerful resource for supporting work transitions, with mutual benefits for mentor and mentee alike.

Bennett, D., &Bridgstock, R. (2015). The urgent need for career preview: Student expectations and graduate realities in music and dance. International Journal of Music Education, 33(3), 263–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761414558653.

Coulson, S. (2010). Getting “capital” in the music world: Musicians’ learning experiences and working lives. British Journal of Music Education, 27(3), 255–270. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051710000227.

Creech, A., Papageorgi, I., Duffy, C., Morton, F., Haddon, E., Potter, J., de Bezenac, C., Whyton, T., Himonides, E., & Welch, G. (2008). From music student to professional: The process of transition. British Journal of Music Education, 25(3), 315–331. https:/doi.org/10.1017/S0265051708008127.

ABSTRACT. Motivation for music is conceptualised as a single continuum (extrinsic-extrinsic) and the methodologies used in music psychology research reflect this position. However, musicians often report both intrinsic (e.g. enjoyment of playing music) and extrinsic (e.g. to win an audition) motives to practise. Using self-determination theory (SDT), the present study takes a novel person-centred perspective with all forms of motivation combined to looks at the motivational profile of musicians as they naturally occur in the population. In addition, this research examines how the perception of support from music teachers contributes to these profiles and how profiles, in turn, relate to practice behaviour. Latent class analysis performed with 210 music students revealed four profiles: 1) autonomous motivation (34% of the sample, high intrinsic, low extrinsic motivations); 2) moderate motivation (49%, moderate intrinsic and extrinsic); 3) controlled motivation (13%, low intrinsic and moderate extrinsic); and 4) strongly controlled motivation (4%, very low intrinsic and moderate extrinsic). The profiles were distinct in terms support form teachers, as well as practice quality and quantity, with the autonomous profile gaining the most beneficial outcomes. This research concludes that musicians may present several motivation styles simultaneously that are related to the quality of support coming from the environment and practice outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Our voice is crucial for communication, emotional expression and identity and, although it has been an important part of us for our entire life, most of us will struggle when asked to describe their own voice. Our voice is a striking example of how easy it is to take things for granted, not until these become compromised or, worse, are lost. We were interested to find out how three different groups affected by voice pathology: Motor Neuron Disease (MND), Parkinson Disease and laryngectomy (surgical removal of the voice box) look at the voice and what they think are its most important characteristics. We recruited 61 participants who have lived experiences of one of the three listed pathologies above and asked them to define the five most important factors in phonation. The three groups selected similar voice defining keywords. However, they responded very differently, when asked to put them in order of relevance. It appears that the factors which are the most affected by their own personal health challenges were found to be the most important in their perception of voice quality. This findings support how we, as human beings, tend to give more value to what we no longer possess, but also that there is a need to foster great reflexivity and appreciation of our own voice.

ABSTRACT. This study explores people’s contemporary (and technologically-mediated) listening practices while accounting for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It extends our previous work (Krause et al., 2021) which explored young adults' consideration of the value of music listening. Previously, almost one-third of participants stated that music listening was an activity they valued and appreciated because of its beauty and/or the enjoyment they received from listening, suggesting respondents placed value in music listening as a ‘means in and of itself’ – a phrase supported by philosophical and ethical considerations of intrinsic value. Our previous data acknowledged music’s intrinsic value, irrespective of tandem extrinsic motivations they may have had for using music to fulfill various functions. Recent studies have found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, young adults consumed more media content (music listening, television, social media, video games) as a coping mechanism due to significant restrictions on movement. Therefore, in this study we interrogate whether the value young adults attribute to music listening has changed during the pandemic, and if so, how? We asked participants (N = 153; Mage = 19.74, SDage = 3.01) to complete an online survey. A thematic analysis of open-text survey responses is currently underway. These findings will advance our understanding not only of the impact of the pandemic, but also on how individual music listening practices and experiences are valued.

Krause, A. E., Glasser, S., & Osborne, M. (2021). Augmenting function with value. An exploration of reasons to engage in and disengage from music listening. Music & Science, 4: 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/20592043211022535

ABSTRACT. Music has been shown to have benefits for people living with dementia with evidence indicating that music can reduce symptoms such as agitation, depression and anxiety, improve quality of life and cognitive skills, as well as promoting personhood, and strengthening social connections. The use of music in dementia care is well-established within music therapy, and in recent years there has been increasing numbers of community musicians working with people living with dementia.

Covid-19 forced music therapists and community musicians to change their approach to working with this population. As part of my PhD research, I am addressing the question of how these music professionals working with people living with dementia had to adapt their practice in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. My aims are to understand how their practice changed, and to explore the psychological impact it had on them.

To achieve this, I have conducted interviews with experienced music professionals from across the UK who are actively involved in delivering music-based activities with people living with dementia, and I am analysing this data using thematic analysis. The outcomes of this study will help inform future music practice and highlight issues relating to the well-being of practitioners in this field.

ABSTRACT. Methodologically rigorous studies have confirmed that music therapy alleviates the social-communication difficulties in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Marquez-Garcia et al., 2021; Mayer-Benarous et al., 2021). Access to therapeutic and educational resources was disrupted during the Covid-19 lockdown and music therapists adapted their sessions to be delivered online. We investigated the families’ and children with ASD experiences during lockdown in 2020, the impact of the lockdown in children’s verbal and non-verbal abilities, and in their inter-personal relationships. We explored the effectiveness of online music therapy sessions and did the families benefit from at-home musical activities. Eight families with children with ASD. Parents completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ; Rutter et al., 2003), the Autism Family Experience Questionnaire (AFEQ; Leadbitter et al., 2018), a socio-demographic questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Families from our sample presented heterogeneous socio-economic characteristics. Parents in the sample reported moderately good family life during the lockdown but worse parental experience during that time. Two main themes arouse from the interviews: parents’ perspectives on online music therapy and the impact of the lockdown measures in the family. Quantitative and qualitative analysis showed that parents had broad expectations about potential benefits of the online music therapy sessions. Despite heterogeneity in family and child variables, parents were unanimously positive in their assessment of the online music therapy. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents insights into projects focused on West London primary and secondary schools to enhance music education after lockdown. Whilst many have reported that lockdown was a barrier to learning as Andrew et al., (2020) report primary data drawn from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with the adult music educators in this project reveal that lockdown enabled music educators to review their pedagogical approaches, explore new ways of delivering blended learning and integrate a wide range of technology in their lessons. This will be compared with research conducted by a South West London consortium of music hubs with 130 students aged 8-18. Initial findings suggest that young people recognise that technology facilitates connectivity, collaboration, easy access to materials and supports new ways of working. Participants reported that they want access to, and knowledge of, recording and production equipment from the earliest stages, both to support their instrumental development and to enhance their creative exploration.

Both studies raise the question how to integrate best practice in online learning into day-to-day teaching practice, recognising the changing needs and interests of students. Further research is planned to implement new pedagogical models within the music hub frameworks.

References

Andrew, A., Cattan, S., Costa Dias, M., Farquharson, C., Kraftman, L., Krutikova, S., Phimister, A., & Sevilla, A. (2020). Learning during lockdownL real time data on children’s experiences during home learning. Retrieved from https://ifs.org.uk/publications/14848

Faultley, M., & Daubney, A. (2020). Editorial Research: Music education in a time of pandemic. British Journal of Music Education, 37 (2) pp. 107-114.

ABSTRACT. Social prescribing (SP) is an approach to holistically improving health and wellbeing by connecting people to non-medical sources of support that match their needs, including music activities (Dayson and Bashir, 2014; Derbyshire et al., 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of SP of music activities as well as the importance of music technology in delivering health and wellbeing support (Derbyshire et al., 2021; Agres et al., 2021). However, the lack of cohesive knowledge of practices delivery and evaluation of SP of music activities requires better understanding in order to optimise the delivery of socially prescribed music activities, in general and with music technology.

This Stakeholder Analysis aimed to develop a body of knowledge of the current practice in delivering and evaluating SP of music activities in Scotland, in general and with music technology. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 21 participants representing different stakeholders of SP of music activities and music technology for health and wellbeing: link workers (n = 6), activity providers (n = 4), service users (n = 2), healthcare professionals (n = 2), a medical student (n=1), SP researchers (n = 3), and experts in music technology for health and wellbeing (n = 3).

Interview data was analysed through thematic analysis using the template analysis technique. Findings from the analysis highlight different practices and models of delivery in socially prescribing music activities in Scotland; identify barriers in delivery and evaluation due to a lack of shared information between stakeholders, and current practice in using music technology; and limitations of stakeholders’ abilities to utilise technological platforms in delivering SP of music activities. The findings of this Stakeholder Analysis will now inform the development of (1) a guidance document for the delivery of SP, and (2) an evaluation framework for SP of music activities.

ABSTRACT. This paper examines in primis the relationship between the human body and the musical instrument; the phenomenology of music making, thinking and praxis: what is the association between the five senses (conventionally identified as touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste) and the production of sound? The bond between the human body and the musical instrument; the relationship of the sensorium with sound architectures in music composition; the hearing experience of sound and music… Touching the sound, hearing the score, smelling the notes, seeing the sounds, tasting the timbres: this paper suggests that recombinatory potentialities, permeable vessels of sensing, are part of sound perception and the act of performing, composing, and listening to music. Furthermore this paper proposes that learning the body before learning music, by making the human body musical, immersed in deep listening, is a fundamental aspect of understanding the kinetic, proprioceptive, and haptic feedback involved in the musical gesture. I investigate the musical score and its anatomy, drawing a direct connection between notation practices and the implied kinetic gesture: a soundography, mapping the topography of bodily gestures through musical notation; I observe and inquire how the ‘education’ of the body within the pact of the social milieu (restrictions, regulations, accepted practices, routines) produces a frail and vulnerable relationship between the body itself and the senses, drastically altering and depleting the perception of sound and the experience of music. By developing a pedagogy of the senses, enhancing transformative practices of the body’s sensuous experiences (with close similarities to the Japanese dance practice butō), putting the human body at the centre of the sonic experience, suggesting strategies of body learning, this paper trace possible pathways of further investigation, research and pedagogical outcomes.

ABSTRACT. Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) is an almost ubiquitous phenomenon for musicians and music students. Kenny (2011) argued that MPA might be relevant to individuals' self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control. Furthermore, Papageorgi et al. (2007) inferred that different levels of anxiety arousal influence students' self-efficacy, self-concept, and self-esteem in higher education through the pure theoretical framework. Existing studies have found that self-esteem and self-efficacy are negatively correlated to music performance anxiety. However, no previous research has discussed the relationship between self-concept, locus of control, and music performance anxiety. The relevant theory states that they may correlate with individuals' music performance anxiety. In addition, due to the different demography, previous research about the relationship between self-esteem, self-efficacy, and MPA cannot be combined as a complete picture.

Therefore, this study investigates potential musicians' performance anxiety from the dimension of self-concept, self-esteem, locus of control, and self-efficacy in higher education. University Choir, Chamber Choir, University symphony orchestra, and chamber orchestra in three Universities will be invited to process this study. In addition, this study will combine quantitative and qualitative data by using pre-validated scales and an open-ended questionnaire. This study will be the first to examine if there is any correlation between potential musicians' locus of control, self-concept, and MPA. Any positive result will significantly contribute to musicians' independent thinking and performance anxiety in education.

ABSTRACT. Background

Piano accompaniment techniques have been investigated (Price 2005, Katz 2009, Roussou 2017), and degree syllabi in piano accompaniment/collaborative piano have been scrutinised (Lippmann 1979, Rose 1981, Mann-Polk 1984).

Aim

To propose a comprehensive module in piano accompaniment for undergraduate university music students, built through the thematic lenses of interaction, communication, support, and, expectations and assumptions (Roussou 2017).

Summary of Content

After analysing the content of past and current degrees/modules in piano accompaniment, and in view of pre-existing literature on accompaniment techniques, the contents – albeit generic – can be categorised as pianistic (e.g. finger dexterity), practical (e.g. transposition), performance (e.g. ensemble awareness), repertoire (e.g. duo sonatas), and so on. Roussou’s (2017) empirical investigation of the working practices of contemporary piano accompanists, resulted in the formulation of a conceptual framework of professional piano accompaniment practice. This contribution proposes a comprehensive module for undergraduate music students, based on the four thematic categories of the framework: 1) interaction; 2) communication; 3) support; and, 4) expectations and assumptions (Roussou 2022).

Significance

Student pianists, instrumentalists and vocalists, would benefit from engaging with such a module, as they would gain a first-hand experience of the piano accompanist’s toolkit from a fresh perspective.

References

Katz, M. (2009). The complete collaborator. The pianist as a partner. Oxford University Press.

Lippmann, J. C. (1979). A program in piano accompanying at the Ohio State University: A feasibility study. PhD MusEd Dissertation. Ohio State University.

Mann–Polk, S. (1984). The D.M./D.M.A. degree in piano accompanying and ensemble performance. DM Dissertation. Northwestern University.

Price, D. N. (2005). Accompanying skills for pianist. Culver City: Culver Crest Publications.

Rose, E. L. (1981). Competencies in piano accompanying. PhD Dissertation. North Texas State University.

Roussou, E. (2017). Exploring the piano accompanist in Western duo music ensembles: Towards a conceptual framework of professional piano accompaniment practice. PhD Thesis, University of Hull, UK.

Roussou, E. (2022). Working practices of professional piano accompanists outlined through a conceptual framework. In R. Timmers, F. Bailes & H. Daffern (Eds.), Together in Music: Participation, Co-ordination, and Creativity in Ensemble, (pp.83-88). Oxford University Press.

ABSTRACT. Cross-cultural research into music and emotion is relatively scarce (Eerola & Vuoskoski, 2013) and most of these studies operationalised culture using geographical regions and ethnicity, which have limited ability to advance understanding of how culture impacts affective experiences with music. The purpose of this paper is to propose a paradigm shift in the way we conceptualise and operationalise culture within cross-cultural investigations of affective experiences with music by focusing on culturally informed factors, of which self-construal is an important example. Firstly, I review definitions of culture and critically examine ways in which culture has been operationally defined and investigated in music and emotion research. Secondly, I introduce self-construal theory as an alternative way to conceptualise and operationalise culture, argue for its theoretical relevance, and hypothesise its impact on affective experiences with music. Cultural psychology identifies two self-construals that vary between cultures: interdependent and independent self-construals characterised by connectedness with others and separateness from others respectively. Self-construal is examined with regards to perception and induction of emotions through music. Finally, I discuss the implications of self-construal theory for the future development of music psychology theory and research. In summary, self-construal may influence affective experiences with music, such that individuals may consider extramusical contextual cues and socio-musical relationships both in the perception and induction of emotions. Taken together, examining self-construal as a psychological structure mediating emotional responses to music offers a means to advance theory and cross-cultural understanding of music and emotions in music psychology.

ABSTRACT. Performing together remotely presents challenges for musicians, most notably in accommodating the temporal delay (or latency) that is introduced whenever data is transferred over a network. The presence of network congestion and transmission errors often causes variation (referred to as jitter) in the exact amount of latency experienced. This research aimed to understand how jitter could affect the ability of an ensemble to make music together over a network. We considered the degree of jitter that musicians could tolerate, alongside its effect on both the stability of their performance and their subjective evaluation of this. We addressed these aims by developing a model of the latency and jitter experienced during a networked musical performance. Using a novel software testbed, we applied this model to performances made by two jazz musicians in an experiment. Our results suggested that jitter caused moment-to-moment increases in tempo instability for both performers, alongside decreases in subjective evaluations of performance success and inter-ensemble coordination. These findings may have implications for the future of networked performance; namely, we suggest that the developers of telecommunication platforms may need to find ways to mitigate the presence of jitter, such as by incorporating network buffers of consistent size.

ABSTRACT. Literature reports a high prevalence of music performance anxiety –a.k.a. stage fright- in musicians. This is thought to have a negative impact on musicians’ psychological health. Few studies have examined the contribution of impostor syndrome and music as self-esteem contingency on stage fright in music. Self-esteem contingency refers to the beliefs that people hold about actions or competencies needed in order to to be considered valuable as a person. Research in other fields reports that self-esteem contingencies and impostor syndrome are related to acute stress and anxiety. The purpose of this study is to establish a link between self-esteem contingency, impostor syndrome, and stage fright in music students. Our hypothesis was that self-esteem mediates the relationship between contingency, impostor syndrome on the one hand, and stage fright on the other hand. A prospective study was conducted with 282 music students aged between 16 and 30 years. Path analyses results demonstrated good fit of the model to the data and provided support to our hypothesis. The importance of considering self-esteem contingencies in music and other mediating and distal variables that may lead to stage fright will be discussed.

ABSTRACT. Studies that have explored tone-melody correspondence in tone languages have tended to focus on pitch transitions between sequential tones and sequential notes. However, there is little research which questions what occurs within a note when it is sung over a tone. This paper investigates how singers realise tones in Chaozhou, a South Chinese language with a complex tonal system, analysing the effects of (1) vocal training, (2) experiences of singing in the language, (3) rhythmic structure of songs, (4) melodic interval, and (5) tone sandhi.

Data were collected from 34 Chaozhou singers singing a Chaozhou song. Results show that most of the contour tones (e.g., tones with a rising or falling contour) were sung with a larger pitch change than level tones (i.e., tones with a level contour) while level tones were performed differently in terms of pitch directions. The pitch range and pitch register of tones, and the pitch of neighbouring tones, appear to be three factors contributing to this result. It was also found that vocal training affected the realisation of falling tones /53/ and /42/ (number ‘5’ represents the highest level of tone while ‘1’ the lowest; the combination of two figures indicates the contours of tones) by reducing the falling pitch of the tones; it also affected mid-rising tone /23/ with a larger pitch change being found for non-professional singers than for professionals. However, singers’ experience of singing in the language had no influence on the production of most tones in song. An effect of rhythmic structure was only found for tones /53/ and /42/. Additionally, there was a tone sandhi effect on tones /53/ and /21/. The analysis also hints at the potential effects of interval size and position, and interaction between these variables, on the pitch change of tones when sung.

ABSTRACT. Sudden deafness in adulthood imposes severe limits on informal engagement in music. However, vibrotactile sensing can enable deaf people to perceive pitch direction (Hopkins et al. 2013). We found no research exploring if this might also enable such a person to sing new musical patterns.

Our female participant in her 50s was diagnosed with sudden-onset bilateral cortical deafness some 6 years previously. She had no formal musical training but had enjoyed informal singing with others.

Study 1. Does vibrotactile sensing enable our participant to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar melodies? We explored her present abilities to use musical vibrations to distinguish ‘familiar’ from ‘unfamiliar’ melodies, using a variety of different musical stimuli. Recognition accuracy was very high. Study 2. Can vibrotactile sensing be developed by training to enable singing unknown melodies? We focused on developing the perception of vibrations to judge pitch direction of 344 pitch-pairs, then repeated for singing each pair. Using a co-creative approach during a 12-week learning programme, she was taught two new songs with melodic accompaniment, both sung with good accuracy. Our research shows evidence for methods enabling effective recognition and singing of music, increasing opportunities for music-making and social engagement for others with acquired profound deafness.

ABSTRACT. Singing is beneficial for wellbeing and social cohesion, but many adults exclude themselves from singing activities. Prior research describes negative singing identities, and social and attitudinal barriers to participating in even inclusive singing opportunities. Little research has examined developmental trajectories of adults taking their first steps in singing since childhood.

Our ‘Finding a Voice’ project explored non-singing adults’ journey of learning to sing. The mixed-methods approach examined skills, attitudes and self-concepts, and documented teaching and learning processes through diaries and interviews. We report qualitative data analyses of A) 225 participants’ questionnaire responses detailing prior experiences with singing, B) teachers’ diaries from the teaching of 20 participants in a 10-month naturalistic singing intervention.

A thematic analysis of questionnaires identified five themes, where non-singers feel themselves to be at the negative end, but aspire to move towards the positive: Vocal production/skill (inability–competence) Social shame (transgression–acceptability); Singing journey (non-participation–engagement); Context (exposure–safety); Internal emotions (inhibition–joy). Content analysis of teacher diaries revealed categories of coaching to use the body as an effective musical instrument, and strategies to promote positive singing experiences and self-concepts. We discuss how these attitudes and approaches interact in the journey towards becoming an Activated Singer.

ABSTRACT. Musical experiences are shown to have the strongest impact during the formative years spent in primary school (Steele et al., 2013; Bailey & Penhune, 2010). However, sensitive periods of development where specific musical abilities are acquired most effectively are not well-defined, likely due to a lack of research tools appropriate for the assessment of musical ability in primary school children. Most tests are not suitably designed to maintain the attention and motivation of a young child and neglect social and emotional components fundamental to musical ability (Kirnarskaya, 2009). This presentation introduces the Young-Gold Music tests: a set of musical ability tests developed using Item Response Theory that are designed to be engaging, interactive and comprehensive in their reach. The battery consists of four ‘games’ which measure imitation, audio-motor associations, emotion discrimination and comparison between emotions presented in different auditory modalities (speech vs. music). Findings from a recent pilot study conducted with children aged 4-11 (N=88) will be presented and evaluated against a hypothesised model of development informed by current literature. Further test development will then be discussed in relation to insights gathered from pilot testing.

Bailey, J. A., & Penhune, V. B. (2010). Rhythm synchronization performance and auditory working memory in early-and late-trained musicians. Experimental Brain Research, 204(1), 91-101.

Kirnarskaya, D. (2009). The natural musician: On abilities, giftedness, and talent. Oxford University Press.

Steele, C. J., Bailey, J. A., Zatorre, R. J., & Penhune, V. B. (2013). Early musical training and white-matter plasticity in the corpus callosum: evidence for a sensitive period. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(3), 1282-1290.

ABSTRACT. Whilst notable singing-based web applications have been described, we know of none which are comprehensive, open-source, easily accessible and based upon robust psychometric modelling. Hence, we developed an application which measures singing performance on-the- fly, which we predicted could be primarily indicated by melodic complexity. The application computes fundamental frequency and note onset estimation via the probabilistic YIN (pYIN; Mauch & Dixon, 2014) algorithm. Across 5 online data collections, we collected a total dataset of 1,149 participants (65.19% Female; Age M = 31.65, SD = 11.81) from the general population and asked them to sing several long tones and melodies sampled from Berkowitz et al., (2017), a book (N_melodies = 629) designed to improve sight-singing. 69 participants completed several other musical and non-musical ability measures. We validated our task in the context of explanatory item response theory (IRT), which connects structural features of items to performance. Specifically, indicators of melodic complexity (e.g., interval contour) served as predictors of a battery of singing (e.g., deviation from target pitches, note precision) and melodic similarity measures. Measures were aggregated using latent variable approaches. Self-reported singing ability had a significant correlation with our derived singing ability score (r = .32, p = .01). Moreover, the IRT approach allowed us to create an adaptive test which presents items to the current estimated ability of the participant based on their derived difficulty values, which can be viewed as a prototype of an educational system. Additionally, we added performance feedback features. In summary, our application helps us to understand what attributes (e.g., melodic complexity) predict singing performance. Not only is it free and accessible, but fun and insightful. It can be easily used with new melodic corpora or measures of singing performance. The presentation will contain a live demonstration of the application: the Singing Ability Assessment (SAA).

ABSTRACT. Music-colour synaesthesia is included under the umbrella term “coloured hearing” (Ward et al., 2006). Although typically considered to be separate from general cognition, the shared mental processes of synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes (Simner, 2012) suggest there may be certain similarities and differences that are a matter of degree. An empirical study investigated music synaesthesia as a phenomenon grounded in bodily action, departing from traditional orientations often portraying synaesthesia as a disembodied “unity of the senses”, and examining a parallel with general music cognition. Hypotheses tested 1) whether changes to action-related qualities of a musical stimulus affect the resulting synaesthetic experience; 2) relationships with multimodal and emotional responses, and 3) parallels between the general population and synaesthetes. 29 synaesthetes and 33 non-synaesthetes listened to 12 musical excerpts performed on a familiar or unfamiliar instrument, versus a deadpan version on an electronic instrument. Participants evaluated the applicability of multimodal, emotional or synaesthetic terms to describe their experience. The most influential effect for both synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes on strength of responses was whether music was performed by a human, but not familiarity with a particular instrument. Multimodal strength was fundamentally associated with strength of synaesthetic response, remaining strong after correcting for correlations with emotion. Results offer support for the novel hypothesis that forms of music-colour synaesthesia are grounded in action (Curwen, 2020), highlighting commonalities between mechanisms underlying music-colour synaesthesia and general music cognition.

Curwen, C. (2020). Music-colour synaesthesia: A sensorimotor account. Musicae Scientiae. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864920956295

Simner, J. (2012). Defining synaesthesia. British Journal of Psychology, 103, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712610X528305

Ward, J., Huckstep, B., & Tsakanikos, E. (2006). Sound-colour synaesthesia: To what extent does it use cross-modal mechanisms common to us all? Cortex, 42(2), 264–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70352-6

ABSTRACT. Background: Visual and kinaesthetic mental imagery have been identified as the two main modalities of mental imagery during music listening (Wilain et al., 2020) and appear to be common in the general population (Küssner & Eerola, 2019). Synaesthesia, on the other hand, is a rare phenomenon that may nevertheless share fundamental mechanisms with mental imagery (Küssner & Orlandatou, in press) and which could even be conceptualized as (multimodal) mental imagery (Nanay, 2020). Although music listening gives rise to mental imagery and is involved in many forms of synaesthesia, little is known about synaesthetes’ experience of mental imagery during music listening.

Research questions: What are the differences and commonalities of synaesthetes’ and non-synaesthetes’ subjective experiences of mental imagery during music listening?

Aims: The aim of this exploratory study is to identify any particularities in synaesthetes’ mental imagery experiences during music listening, with a view to developing testable hypotheses.

Summary of content and significance: Re-analysing Wilain et al.’s (2020) survey data (N=262), including 24 synaesthetes, we found that synaesthetes, compared to non-synaesthetes, experience visual, kinaesthetic, and tactile mental imagery more frequently; show more multimodal mental imagery; and attach more meaning to these experiences, suggesting that synaesthetes’ experiences of music listening may be more distinct from the general population than previously thought.

ABSTRACT. Visual imagery is a highly common experience during music listening. Some research has proposed that, like mind-wandering, music-induced visual imagery may occur with and without intention, but this possibility is yet to receive systematic investigation. Similarly, while visual imagery has been shown to be associated with alpha suppression in posterior brain areas, the neural correlates of spontaneous and deliberate music-induced visual imagery remain unresearched.

The current study aimed, therefore, both: i) to replicate previous EEG studies showing visual imagery reflected in occipital areas of the brain, and ii) to compare patterns of neural activation observable during music-induced spontaneous and deliberate visual imagery.

To this end, a probe-caught paradigm was used to sample the listening experience. Participants listened to four music blocks varying in arousal and familiarity, and episodes of no, spontaneous and deliberate visual imagery were identified. As predicted, alpha power suppression was seen in posterior brain areas during visual imagery episodes. Further, while we saw alpha power suppression to be particularly great during spontaneous compared to deliberate visual imagery, we also expect frontal executive areas to show more recruitment during deliberate imagery (analysis in progress). Taken together, our study provides much needed insights into the incidence and bases of music-induced imagery, a highly subjective and elusive phenomenon.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this project was to identify any impacts COVID-19 has had on teaching strategies, content, use of technology, professional identity, or adaptability. We investigated teachers’ self-perceptions of their use of technology in teaching and learning, how these self-perceptions of identity, adaptability, and effectiveness of teaching with technology might have been impacted by COVID-19, and how teachers may have incorporated newly acquired technologies and pedagogies along with possible transformed identities into their teaching practices. We propose extending the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to include teacher identity and adaptability, in addition to teacher knowledge, to provide a more revealing measurement of teacher self-perceptions of their technology use in teaching and learning, particularly post COVID-19. A researcher-developed measurement tool was distributed to UK music teachers teaching in any context or setting. Participants were given opportunities for open-ended reflection on the type and role of technology in their teaching and what teaching or technology practices they intended for future use. The results of this project could inform teacher education by providing a means to critically examine the intersections between knowledge, identity, and adaptability when assessing the effective use of technology in music teaching and learning.

ABSTRACT. The factors that influence music teachers’ use of technology remain ambiguous in the literature on music education, and little is known about the factors that influence music teachers’ behaviour in using technology in China. Therefore, this study examined the perceived determinants of music teachers’ technological behaviour and validated a more extensive theoretical model in the domain of Chinese music education. Questionnaire data for this quantitative research were drawn from 307 music teachers in Fujian Province of China. A structural equation modelling approach was used to explore the relationships between music teachers’ Technology Acceptance (TA), Technological Competence (TC), and Technological Behaviour (TB). The findings identified ten influential factors and provided a theoretical framework entitled Technological Competence, Acceptance, and Behaviour (TCAB) to describe how Chinese music teachers use technology. In particular, TA seems to be the most important component within them. This is because only TA has a direct effect on TB, whereas TC could have an indirect effect on TB by directly influencing TA. This study is one of the few attempts to develop a theoretical model for testing music teachers’ behaviour in using technology in China. The TCAB model may provide music teachers and related stakeholders with important insights on how to assist them in applying technology more successfully.

ABSTRACT. Music constantly surrounds us in everyday life, impacting our emotions and behaviour. Its emotive influence makes music a valuable tool in the world of advertising, where people are persuaded to purchase from a brand. A particularly important characteristic for a sonic logo is its memorability. Memorability is important because it helps you recognise the brand and its unique characteristics. As a result, audio-branding companies (e.g. SoundOut) are very interested in assessing the memorability for different sonic logos, and have developed various procedures for studying memorability using market-research data. However, we still know little from a psychological perspective on what musical features drive memorability in the context of sonic logos. I conducted a psychological experiment studying this question. The continuous recognition paradigm, put forward by Herff, Olsen & Dean (2018), was used to quantify the memorability of different sonic logos for a participant group of market-research testers recruited via SoundOut. I then analysed how memorability can be predicted from musical features of the sonic logos, in light of recent studies on melodic memorability by Müllensiefen & Halpern (2014). The results showed that the continuous recognition paradigm works, and offers a successful method for audio-branding companies and psychologists to quantify the memorability of sonic logos. It was also found that higher pleasantness, and a larger increase in familiarity across three repetitions, was associated with a clear sense of ascending and descending contour, rhythmic complexity, a higher number of notes and higher note density. Finally, participant group (musical expertise) did not affect the results.

ABSTRACT. For children under the age of 6, music is experienced informally through singing, dancing and playing musical games with a lot of these activities taking place in the home environment. Given the promising potential of informal musical engagement for fostering cognitive and socio-emotional development, the Music@Home questionnaire (Infant and Preschool version) has recently been developed in the UK to assess the home musical environment in young families. Studies using the Music@Home have shown that this is associated with attachment between caregivers and their children in the USA, and with better language outcomes in infants and toddlers in the UK and Germany. The present study sought to adapt and validate the Music@Home in the Greek population. To this end, a large-scale online survey has been launched to collect responses from Greek-speaking families on the musical activities they do at home with their children. Furthermore, this study will test whether the Greek Music@Home is associated with communicative development of infants <18 months. This research provides the Greek population with a systematic instrument to assess musical engagement, a potentially significant aspect of the home environment, and generates insights for the use of cost-effective activities that may foster early learning across different cultures.

ABSTRACT. This paper reports inconsistencies in Tanzania’s cultural and educational policies regarding the status of music and the use of musical traditions in in children’s music activities. Soon after the independence in 1961, Tanganyika (Tanzania ) and other African countries emphasised the revival, promotion, preservation, and use of marginalised ethnic music in schools. Tanzania’s cultural policies regard culture as a soul of the nation and insist the use of musical traditions in the education system for building a national music culture, national identity, and unity. However, since the 1960s, to date, music is not widely implemented in schools as an academic subject, and little is known about its status and place in the cultural and educational policies. A qualitative synthesis of four policies (two cultural and two educational) was conducted to assess the status and place of music and the use of musical traditions in children’s music activities. While the cultural policies emphasise the use of musical traditions in schools and insist the teaching and assessment of music at the school and national level, the education and training policies do not give the same emphasis. Evidence shows that the school subjects which are compulsory, or core combinations are taught and examined across the levels of education. This is not the case for music, partly due to lack of policy emphasis and other factors which are beyond this synthesis. These findings will contribute to transform and harmonise cultural and educational policies regarding the future place and status of music education in the school curriculum on the one hand and the multicultural implications of using musical traditions in designing children’s music activities on the other.

ABSTRACT. According to Order (2017, p. 244), community radio broadcasting is “perfectly placed to tackle the far-reaching social issue of loneliness”. This is important to note in consideration of older adult well-being. Thus, we have undertaken a program of mixed-methods research to investigate: 1) radio listeners’ considerations of the purpose of radio; and 2) the potential role of radio in promoting listener well-being. With data collection still underway, preliminary analyses drawing on semi-structured focus groups with radio listeners suggest that listeners engage with radio for entertainment (e.g., music), information (e.g., news), and connection. Listeners indicate that radio presenters act as a surrogate friend in their home, whereby the listener feels that they are part of a conversation taking place. They establish perceived relationships with presenters such that a change of presenter or program is met with mourning or an adjustment period. Having consistent engagement with presenters and programs of choice appear to be associated with listener enjoyment and comfort. Project findings will be contextualised against data collected via interviews with radio presenters to consider what synergies exist. Additionally, broader implications regarding radio listening for well-being in aged-care settings and healthy ageing policies will be discussed.

Order, S. (2017). All the lonely people, where do they all belong: Community radio and social connection. Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 15(2), 243-258. doi:10.1386/rjao.15.2.243_1

ABSTRACT. Music has been shown to serve a myriad of functions that can cater to any individual social, cognitive and emotional need (North et. al., 2004; Rana & North, 2007). Through the rise of digital music streaming services, researchers have been able to investigate how people curate their own personal listening experiences and further study the motivations behind these functions through the Uses and Gratifications of Music model (Lonsdale & North, 2011). While most of the previous research has focused on one influential factor (i.e. listening device, location, individual characteristics), the current research aims to use a holistic approach to explore how streaming service users utilise playlists in their everyday music listening behaviours. Through implementing self-report measures and an Experience Sampling Method (ESM) application, this research aims to collect real-time data regarding playlist curation, listening context, emotional state, and the musical engagement of each listener. It is predicted that the curation and intended audience of each playlist will influence the function of each type of playlist in everyday users.

ABSTRACT. Background Large-scale data collection is essential to characterize musical behavior properly across individuals and societies. Several music cognition labs have demonstrated that using intrinsically motivating designs can result in large-scale, reliable responses. The motivation-enhancing effect may be amplified if research on music cognition is combined with an engaging, gamified paradigm that allows for cross-age and cross-cultural adaptation. One example of this paradigm is the Matching-Pairs game.

Aim The purpose of our pilot study is to evaluate the potential and drawbacks of the Matching-Pairs game paradigm as a way of probing core components of musicality.

Summary and Significance Advantages of the proposed paradigm (implemented both physically and virtually) include a design that is common across many cultures, an engaging task that requires minimal instruction, and reliable measurements of differences in memory and cognition. The paradigm’s shortcomings, based on a simulation and preliminary data, include ambiguities about the modeling of response data and several confounds in interpreting participants’ patterns of behavior. Despite these shortcomings, we advocate for paradigms like the Matching-Pairs game to be used at scale due to its potential in studying listening behavior across age and various cultures.

ABSTRACT. Background The five-factor MUSIC model (Rentfrow et al., 2011) suggests that there exist five preference factors for general music, derived by measuring listeners’ affective reactions to musical excerpts. A recent study confirmed four of five factors (Habe et al., 2018), however, it remains unclear how far this model generalises cross-culturally.

Aims We collect preference judgements of musical excerpts from a Chinese audience, with the aim of identifying the factors that underly their musical preferences. The main question is whether the Chinese model reflects a culturally specific structure for music preference.

Significance This study’s findings will further help identify the factors that affect individual musical preference by including musical excerpts from a wider range of genres as well as participants from a non-WEIRD society. Comparison of the Chinese model to the aforementioned Western-derived models will help explore whether music preferences are driven by universal features or culturally specific ones.

Conclusion The MUSIC model remains ambiguous as to whether music-preference factors are universal or culturally specific. The object of this research is to help fill this gap by identifying a factor structure underlying music preference in China. We discuss an experimental methodology for the study and compare two musicological models.

References Habe, K., Dobrota, S., & Reić Ercegovac, I. (2018). The structure of musical preferences of youth: Cross-cultural perspective. Musicological Annual, 54(1), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.4312/mz.54.1.141-156 Rentfrow, P. J., Goldberg, L. R., & Levitin, D. J. (2011). The structure of musical preferences: A five-factor model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(6), 1139–1157. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022406

ABSTRACT. Little is known about the impact of emotional engagement with music on subsequently imagining it (involuntary musical imagery - INMI). We aimed to experimentally determine whether music paired with emotion-inducing film leads to a higher incidence of INMI than music without. Participants (N = 73 psychology students) were told they were participating in a study of the suitability of music for film. Stimuli were generated combining unfamiliar music (from foreign music charts, rated as catchy but emotionally neutral) with emotional film clips (unknown silent film excerpts rated as positive, neutral and negative). The counterbalanced pairing of neutral music tracks with emotionally evocative video was designed to form an emotional association during an exposure phase. Following the exposure phase, participants completed a silent filler task designed to induce INMI (McCullough Campbell & Margulis, 2015), before being asked about their experiences of imagining any music during this time. A binomial logistic regression model confirmed that the last stimulus presented was the music most likely to be imagined, but also that positively valenced stimuli increased the odds of imagining the music. Improved understanding of the factors contributing to INMI may enable their better control, and their use as a form of emotion regulation.

McCullough Campbell, S. & Margulis, E. H. (2015). Catching an earworm through movement. Journal of New Music Research, 44(2), 347-358.

ABSTRACT. Music has always had an important role in cinema, giving films an additional dimension, while being indispensable for the film's emotional character (Cohen, 1998). However, in what ways can music express emotion? Several researchers have investigated the relationship between musical elements, such as tempo, rhythm, melody, harmony, etc., and emotions (Gabrielsson, 2016; Juslin, 2016). One of the less investigated musical elements is intonation, something considered fundamental for emotional expression (Leedy & Haynes, 2001).

This study aims to explore what effects different intonation choices for a soundtrack may have on audience's emotional reactions to a film. To do so, extensive literature on the topics of film music, music and emotions, and intonation was reviewed, and an experiment was conducted where participants reported their emotional reactions to film clips. The results show that music enhances and directs the scene's emotional meaning, with some intonation choices supporting this role more than others do. Just Intonation seemed to be preferred for calmer scenes, while unconventional intonation seems more appropriate for horror scenes. The findings of these trends in this study may help fill the gap between the topics aforementioned and inspire film composers to utilize different methods to express emotions.

References: Cohen, A. J. (1998). The functions of music in multimedia: A cognitive approach. Fifth International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, 13–20.

Gabrielsson, A. (2016). The relationship between musical structure and perceived expression. In S. Hallam, I. Cross, & M. Thaut (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music psychology (2nd ed., pp. 215–232). Oxford University Press.

Juslin, P. N. (2016). Emotional reactions to music. In S. Hallam, I. Cross, & M. Thaut (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music psychology (2nd ed., pp. 197–213). Oxford University Press.

Leedy, D., & Haynes, B. (2001). Intonation (ii). Grove Music Online.

ABSTRACT. Research Questions:

1) Which emotion words are most relevant to qawwālī listening at the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya and how do these relate to each other?

2) Which factors can parsimoniously describe subjective feeling for qawwālī listeners at the shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya?

Background:

Qawwālī is a Sufi (Islamic) music in India and Pakistan. It has its own theory of musical emotion relating to its functional role in the inducement of “spiritual arousal,” trance, and love in listeners, as explored by Qureshi (1986). This makes it a fascinating case study for musical emotion, as it involves emotional concepts that do not exist in other cultural contexts, and a clear emic concept for how these emotions are caused. Further, most theories of subjective feeling in music have taken Western, non-spiritual contexts as a basis, and often have WEIRD participant sets (Henrich et. al., 2010), including Zentner’s GEMS (2008).

Aims:

1) Reduce large number of emotion terms to a small number of factors most relevant to emotions felt during qawwālī listening, for use as scales in future research.

2) Produce “conceptual maps” showing subjective and intersubjective proximity of various emotion concepts for qawwālī listeners.

Content

This paper presents the results of a two-stage questionnaire-based study of subjective feeling reported by attendees of qawwālī events at the Dargah (shrine) of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi. As such, this paper uses multidimensional scaling and exploratory factor analysis to visualize distances between the feelings of Sufi concepts such as hāl, and general emotion terms such as happiness, pride, or calm, as well as to suggest an intersubjective scale by which subjective feeling with qawwālī may be examined, in an approach loosely based on the method of Zentner et al. in developing their Geneva Emotions in Music Scale (GEMS).

ABSTRACT. Clara Schumann (1819-1896) played an integral role in the musical culture of the nineteenth century as a pianist, composer, and pedagogue. Her pedagogical prestige attracted students from overseas and, later in her teaching career, she was influential in being the first female appointed at the Hoch Conservatory, a position she occupied from 1878 until 1892.

Despite Clara’s hugely successful and lengthy teaching career, her pedagogy has received less scholarly attention than it deserves. By consulting the work of three of her students: Fanny Davies, Taylor Franklin, and Carl Friedberg—Davies and Franklin have written specifically about their pedagogical methods, and Friedberg recorded over twenty hours of his teaching with student Bruce Hungerford, providing an authentic insight into the legacy of Clara’s teaching—this paper analyses the extent to which Clara’s pedagogical lineage has continued, offering an insight into the pedagogical methods and the underpinning philosophy of the so-called Clara Schumann School.